Valentine for Hire
by BookloverStar
Summary: When Edward approached Bella with an unusual request she's at a crossroads of either spending Valentines alone or going on a date with a mystery man who's "quirky". Will she give him the chance he's been waiting for or leave him high and dry? My entry for A picture is worth a thousand words: Valentine Edition


**A/N: Hello lovelies! Bit of a late update, I was supposed to update yesterday but right now I've been hit with a nasty stomach virus and my date yesterday was with porcelain. SO…here is my one shot for the contest A Picture is worth a thousand words. I have another entry that will be posted later today from the same contest but for now**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer **

**Enjoy! **

"It won't be a big deal; just one date on valentine's day. He just wants to talk to you but he's nervous. He's seen you in pictures and stuff and technically I already paid for the package." Edward said, trailing off awkwardly as I stood there, mouth agape.

"You paid for me to go out with your friend?" I said slowly, trying to process his unusual request. "What am I a glorified prostitute?".

"You're not a glorified prostitute Bella! If anything, you're a high-end escort" He said winking, as I smacked his arm.

"First of all, this Valentine for hire business was your sister's idea, and second off I did it as a favor. I never thought someone would actually take up the offer!" I yelled in a panic as Edward shushed me.

"Will you quiet down! Look I'm joking, I'm sorry, it's a joke but the proposal isn't. He's a good guy and he saw this as an opportunity to meet you. He's too shy to ask you himself and this way it takes some of the pressure off." He explained abashed. "Plus, I never said it was a good idea" He mumbled,

"Yeah, about that, seriously, a literal wall, that's weird Edward!"

"Look I know, okay, it is weird but he's really shy and to be honest a little intimidated because, well, he really wants to make a good impression without freaking you out" Edward explained, a pleading expression now gripping his face.

With a deep sigh, I reluctantly asked the question:

"Okay what time do I meet him?"

So here I was, waiting behind a wall because he's "quirky". All I knew was that I had a full can of pepper spray in my purse, and remembered the self-defense moves Charlie taught me.

"Bella" A nervous voice called from the other side of the wall.

I immediately felt butterflies as I awkwardly answered "Yup, it's me"

"I can't believe you agreed to this. I mean thank you for agreeing to this" He backtracked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice as he stumbled through the words.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm here" I laughed nervously eyeing the big red EXIT sign by the door.

"Yeah, which I really need to thank Edward for convincing you to meet me like this. I'm rather private you see, and I would really like for you to get to know me before you see me." The mystery man said quietly, with a vulnerability in his voice I wasn't expecting.

"Well I admit it's unorthodox, but I can understand privacy," I said twiddling my thumbs in my lap, and trying to place his voice.

"Thank you for understanding and thank you again for meeting me." He said in earnest before being interrupted by the waiter.

Giving our orders, we were left in an awkward silence.

"So, what do you like to do?" I asked, hating the painful silence. If, I was going to be here, I might as well make the best of it.

"I enjoy reading and looking up interesting facts in my spare time." He answered quickly

"Really? What kind of interesting facts?" I asked, intrigued.

"Uh, the unicorn is the national animal of Scotland," He said, and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"What!" I exclaimed, breaking the ice as I chuckled "No way, really?"

"Yeah, Scotland has a long history with myths and legends, and I guess the Scots embraced that fact, and decided to name their national animal the Unicorn." He laughed

"I honestly love unicorns, so I need to add that trip to my bucket list," I said

"Bucket list huh?" he asked, as I blushingly ducked my head, though I knew he couldn't see me.

"Yeah, it's just something I came up with my freshman year of college" I said and after being questioned further I launched into a tirade of things I wanted to see and do all, the while studying his hopes and dreams.

He was funny, smart, quick-witted, and able to keep up with me in conversation. We laughed together over our shared humor and were barely fazed when the waiter delivered our food.

I slowly started to lower my guard and realized that even though this was unusual, it was one of the best dates I'd ever been on.

"So" I started, taking the last sip of wine "given that the date is coming to an end, would it be possible to see who the person is on the other side of this wall?" I asked hopefully, as he suddenly grew quiet.

"Well, uh… I guess so" He chuckled nervously as I heard the chair scraped against the floor. I stood, excited to see who finally owned the silky voice on the other side of the door. I saw a shadow underneath and his footsteps stopped right in front of me.

"Just, before I open the door, Bella could you do me a favor?" He asked.

With a quiet "yes" escaping my lips, I heard him take a deep breath and say, "Promise you'll try not to lose your opinion of me, once you seen my face?"

Puzzled at his request, I tried to stifle my gasp, as the man behind the door stepped forward.

"Alec?" I breathed

Alec gave me a half-hearted smile, as I continued to stare at the man in front of me. This wasn't the same obnoxious, rude man Edward introduced me too a few weeks ago but instead, I'm facing someone completely different.

"I knew you wouldn't go out with me if you saw my face, I just wanted a chance."


End file.
